AdrianP: <What would happen against someone who is willing and able to enter the mainline?> Quite. I think I'm right that Shirov, who plays the Najdorf quite a bit and has done some serious work on the new critical line in the poisoned pawn, also did not want to see Kamsky's preparation, playing a Sicilian with 2. ...Nc6. But maybe Shirov was trusting *his own* preparation of the white side of this line rather than Kamsky's!

KamikazeAttack: Kamsky has been ordinary for most of his comeback. In fact some of his games have been downright terrible. It is ridiculous to hype where none is necessary.

He showed significant improvement in the world cup thx to Emil. From the just concluded WC tournament, he has shown that he can still play high quality chess.

But is he ready for the big boys?? Not in this backyard. I have no doubt that he would be crushed if they played right now. Kamsky is not gonna close the gap with months of work compared to years of work that the big boys have put in at this level. U delude urself if u think otherwise.

But can Kamsky be ready for the big boys? Oh yes. He has time to close the gap if given the right preparation.

AdrianP: <acirce> I guess so - it's actually hard to tell as although Shirov's happy enough to play the Najdorf as black, no-one's played 6. Bg5 against him since 2001 (so far as the cg database goes).

Eyal: Kamksy seems to like playing off-beat stuff in the openings - I don't think it's just lack of knowledge in the main or more topical lines, but rather part of his style. And as long as it's not bizarre (as in Mamedyarov vs Kamsky, 2007 from the recent Mtel) but something solid - like the Scotch and Petrov lines he played against Carlsen, or the Closed Sicilians he played against Shirov - it might work very well for him. Btw, when he did play more main line stuff in the World Cup, he seemed to be quite well prepared - as in the 15...a5 novelty he produced in the Breyer Defense, which helped him to draw with Black the first games of his matches with Svidler and Shirov. In a match with Topalov, however, the level of his opening preparation will probably be tested more severely.

cotdt: You guys can all just keep looking at results and statistics all you want, but you miss the real point if you don't look at the actual games. Some of the "weaker" 2700 players produce the most beautiful chess ever. In my mind, the big three is not really better than Kamsky at chess, but are simply better prepared. Kamsky said that he will prepare very seriously against Topalov. He did not prepare against Gelfand at all, and he has learned from this mistake.

Have you guys even looked at the Kramnik-Topalov world championship match games? There were blunders everywhere and so many missed opportunities to convert the games on both sides. I would not call it high quality chess at all, with the exception of only a small handful of games. In that match, any 2700 player in top forms could have beaten either of the two players.

veigaman: We dont have to forget that kamsky- topalov is a match instead of a tournament and kamsky is a very dangerous player under this format because of his endgame skills, determination and defensive skills. Moreover, i think kamsky can improve significantly his opening in the next months to reach topalov level in this stage of the game.

chancho: I can't see Topalov losing to Kamsky in a match.
I really hope that I am wrong, as seeing Kamsky competing for the World championship would be a great boon for chess in the USA. (even though Gata is not american born)

Nepa Pugna: <Nepa Pugna: lol FIDE officially calls Kamsky and Shirov "TWO OLD MEN" FIDE better hope these two old men don't make them eat their words.> This post was made not to long ago. I wonder what FIDE is thinking now. My bet is on Old Man Kamsky. Win, lose or draw.

<At the same year 2008, and after match A [Anand-Kramnik], the winner of the World Cup 2007 will play a challengers match of 8 games against GM Veselin Topalov with a minimum net prize fund of 150,000 USD (match B).
In 2009 (within the first six months) a World Championship match will be held between the reigning World Champion (winner of match A) and the winner of match B.>

Peligroso Patzer: <AdrianP: As a contrast to Kamsky's success here and at e.g. the MTel Masters [2006], one can look to Candidates Match: Gelfand vs Kamsky (2007) where Kamsky simply couldn't get started against a player with really top-class preparation, struggling to get winning chances even with white.>

It must be remembered, however, that whereas Kamsky had only a couple of days or so to prepare specifically for Gelfand, he now has months to prepare for Topalov. Especially if he continues to have a productive working relationship with Sutovsky, he can put that time to very good use.

AdrianP: <Peligroso> I agree entirely. In fact, this really is an opportunity and incentive to Kamsky to bring his opening repertoire back up-to-date, which will require a tremendous amount of work but now there's a big carrot at the end of it.

eternaloptimist: In the upcoming match between Topalov and Kamsky, I think it will be tough for Kamsky to win, but I hope he does. Topalov plays well against the Slav, the Queen's Indian & the King's Indian w/ the white pieces; this is bad news for Kamsky because those are the openings he likes to play against 1.d4. Also, Kamsky likes to play the Sicilian & the Ruy Lopez w/ the black pieces, which Topalov also knows how to play against very well. Game plan for Kamsky: 1)pray to God he wins 2)come up w/ some surprises in the opening (for example: an offbeat line in the Ruy Lopez) 3)mainly play 1.e4 w/ white 4)He needs to mix it up w/ black. He probably will do best to mainly play the Sicilian & the King's Indian, but he should also play the Queen's Indian, the Ruy Lopez & a surprise opening or two. 5)hope that Topalov blunders as much as he did in his match w/ Kramnik for the world championship. If he does these things, he's definitely got a shot.

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